Sibs Shongwe-La Mer

Sibs Shongwe- La Mer (born 11 September 1991) is a screenwriter, film director, musician, TED (conference) talks alumni^[1] and visual artist born in Johannesburg, South Africa.^[2] His critically acclaimed debut feature film, Necktie Youth^[3] premiered in the Panorama section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival,^[4] Tribeca Film Festival,^[5] Sydney Film Festival^[6] and numerous top tier international film festivals, winning "Best South African Feature Film" and "Best Direction" at the Durban International Film Festival in 2015.^[7] The film went on to garner a multitude of awards including "Best Achievement in Cinematography" and "Best Achievement in editing" at the 2015 South African Film and Television Awards.^[8] Necktie Youth was theatrically released in South Africa (2015) at Ster-Kinekor^[9] and on the iTunes Store^[10] & DStv Box-office.^[11] The film was later released in the Netherlands enjoying a circuit run at De Balie^[12] in Amsterdam and other cinema house and territories.

Early career

Sibs Shongwe-La Mer (born Sibusiso Mandla Shongwe) was born in Sandton in the Northern Suburbs of Johannesburg, South Africa on 11 September 1991.^[13][14] His visual art and cinema career began in his late teens after the untimely death of a high school girlfriend and other influential tragedies befell his social circle and resulted in the creation of various bodies of art and film^[15] exploring themes of suburbia malaise, depression and the new South African experience. First working as a independent music video director and rock n roll photographer for local acts,^[16] Shongwe-La Mer had his first notable international film festival exposure with self funded low-fi production "Territorial Pissings" that was screened as a work-in-progresses at the 70th Venice International Film Festival (La Biennale di Venezia)^[17] in 2013 with a copy of the work added to the festivals historical archives. At this time, Shongwe-La Mer was additional active as a visual artist & photographer, exhibiting works in his country of birth as well as various galleries around the world.^[18][19]

"Josephine" from 2014 Photographic Series "Burial of My Sisters

Filmography

As writer/director

• Necktie Youth (2015)
• Territorial Pissings (2013)
• Death Of Tropics (2012)

As actor

• Necktie Youth (Supporting Lead) (2015)

As Producer/Executive Producer

• Territorial Pissings (2013)
• Death Of Tropics (2012)

Awards/Nominations

References